1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with a method of freezing tomatoes and forming them into solid members free of preservatives and adapted for cutting, shaping and placement into plastics bags.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the prosecution of the applicant's parent application Ser. No. 796,398, certain prior art was brought to the applicant's attention, and this prior art is considered to be the best prior art now known to the applicant.
Specifically, an article by Diego Staniero entitled "Novel Freeze-Enzyme Technique Peels Tomatoes at 6 Tons/Hr." published in Food Engineering of October 1956 pages 58, 59 and 141 discloses a method of freezing tomatoes in a brine bath. After freezing in the brine bath, the tomatoes are plunged into warm water so as to loosen the skins. The tomatoes are then peeled and canned. The initial temperature of the brine is maintained at 5.degree. F. or -15.degree. C., and the warm water into which the tomatoes are plunged after freezing is maintained at a temperature of 86.degree. F. or 30.degree. C. Specifically, it should be noted that Straniero then cans the warm peeled tomatoes.
Reference is also made to Brown et al., "Freeze Peeling Improves Quality of Tomatoes", published in the Journal of Food Science, Volume 35 (1970) pages 485 to 488, which discloses the use of liquid nitrogen as a refrigerant for freezing the skin of the tomatoes after which they are defrosted at a temperature between 20.degree. to 30.degree. C. The tomatoes are then refrozen and placed into plastic bags for storage with refreezing taking place at -24.degree. C.
There are other well known processes for the peeling of tomatoes, but none provides for an economic and less costly method of peeling tomatoes than the present invention.